The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Bicol has approved a PHP3-million grant to the City Veterinary Office (CVO) here for the implementation of its “Range Chicken and Organic System for Alternative Livelihood” (ROSAL) project.

In an interview on Monday, Dr. Emmanuel Estipona, CVO chief, said the amount would be used for the construction of chicken cages, including fencing and lighting.

“The budget would also be used for industrialization to make sure that the implementation of the range chicken program has the proper direction to strengthen the resiliency and food security measure, and later on to make it income-generating livelihood activities of the people in the community,” he added.

Estipona said his office has purchased an additional incubator with a capacity to incubate 1,500 eggs in 19 days.

“Presently, we are using our incubator machine with a capacity of 500 eggs per incubation period but through our new incubator, we can expect to produce at least 2,000 chicks every 19 days,” he said.

As an advanced Mothers’ Day celebration here last week, the CVO distributed 10 chickens to each of the barangay leaders of the Legazpi City Women’s Federation (LCWF).

Former mayor and now president of LCWF, Geraldine Rosal, expressed gratitude to the CVO for including the group in the chicken dispersal program.

She encouraged the beneficiaries to breed their own chicks so that they can produce more eggs for hatching as part of their livelihood activities that would generate additional income for their families.

Estipona said he is planning to give at least 50 heads of range chicken to each farmer, but they should first register with the newly organized Legazpi Poultry Raiser Agriculture Cooperative (LPRAT) to avail of the program.

He also said the CVO will put up a poultry dressing plant to be used for the proper slaughtering of organic chicken for easy marketing.

“The LPRAT will make their own label to identify the product as an organic chicken and healthy meat to consume,” Estipona added. (PNA)